WWE's Wrestlemania plans, Mike Tenay interview recap Submitted by William Martinez on Saturday, December 14, 2002 at 5:45 PM EST
Earlier, we reported about The Rock stating that Goldberg might be a possible future opponent for him. Apparently, rumors have been floating around that WWE is making a huge push to sign Goldberg for a match at Wrestlemania.
Other plans for Wrestlemania include Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar and Triple H vs. Scott Steiner. Kevin Nash may face Triple H at the show instead but the company might decide to go with Nash vs. Shawn Michaels.
As far as Hulk Hogan goes, he also wants to be a part of the show and should be come to terms with WWE, he will probably face Vince McMahon at the show rather than a rematch with The Rock or a title shot. Should all these pieces fall into place, it would be one hell of a stacked Wrestlemania card.
The following are highlights from Xtreme Mayhem's interview with Mike Tenay of NWA TNA. The interview was conducted by Mike Nagel and Jeff Meacham on December 13th (Friday the 13th!), 2002. The entire interview went just over an hour! Visit http://xtreme.themayhem.com/ to listen to the streaming audio or downloadable version of the interview!
Tony Schiavone
Bobby Heenan's negative comments about Schiavone were brought up, and Tenay said he wasn't as negative about Schiavone. Tenay said that he had a good working relationship with Schiavone for many years. Tenay felt that Heenan's dislike for Schiavone had to do with both Schiavone's position in the company and the fact that Heenan felt Schiavone didn't treat him with enough respect. Tenay said that Schiavone had been put in a tough situation by WCW and that was why many people had conflict with him. Tenay felt that the reason why Schiavone put his head down during Nitro was because he had been losing interest in wrestling over the years. Tenay said that Schiavone probably neglected the fans because he was so busy and people would take him the wrong way when he was having a bad day. Tony Schiavone came up with "The Professor" nickname.
Getting Into The Business
In 1962, Tenay's grandfather introduced him into wrestling. Tenay would watch shows from The Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Tenay was inspired in a masked wrestling known as The Destroyer, who was from parts unknown and would offer $1000 if anyone could break the figure four leglock. Tenay started reading magazines and doing research on wrestling. In 1967, at age 12, Tenay started writing for magazines and newsletters, similar to Dave Meltzer's newsletter. According to Tenay, a young Dave Meltzer was one of the subscribers of Tenay's newsletter. Tenay eventually started his own radio wrestling show, and before long he ended up in WCW, and now in NWA TNA. Tenay was involved with the "When Worlds Collide" show in 1994, which helped bring Tenay and the lucha libre style of wrestling into WCW.
WWE Product
One of the reasons that Vince McMahon spoke out about what wrestling being entertainment instead of a sport was because by doing that, the WWF didn't have to pay fees to the athletic state commision for live events and pay-per-view events. Tenay said that he was in talks with Jim Ross about joining the WWE, but things failed to work out because Tenay didn't like the idea of not being able to negotiate due to there only being one major promotion. Tenay felt that the promotion could be more successful if they either focused more on the cruiserweight division or eliminate the roster split. Tenay went on to talk about how the WWF blew it with the WCW storyline, saying that they should have hired the big names and some of the WCW announcers, and then they should have capitalized on the potential dream matches.
Signing With NWA TNA
Tenay met with Jeff Jarrett, and the rest was basically history. He enjoys the schedule and likes being around the younger wrestlers in the locker room. He says that the wrestlers aren't looking for a paycheck, but are going out there to prove themselves and put on a great show for the fans. Tenay has been given freedom by both Jarretts to do what he wants and he also enjoys being the lead announcer.
Vince Russo
In regards to Tenay's short-lived heel run in WCW, Russo wanted Tenay and Midajah to actually get into a fight where Tenay would actually throw punches at Midajah, and Scott Steiner would come out and attack Tenay. Tenay said that during a television interview with Russo, Russo told Tenay that he would be wrestling on the next show, but Tenay wasn't informed about this prior. Tenay said that Russo was one of those guys who would take something that had been proven successful over the years and do the total opposite. An example was Russo would notice how over a guy like Bill Goldberg was, so Goldberg would end up turning heel. Tenay says Russo is one of the main reasons that wrestling has died down so badly, and he brings up that only a few million people are watching wrestling now instead of the twelve million in 1999.
Rumor Killer
Tenay bring up the news reported by Wade Keller where supposedly it was common knowledge that if Russo was brought into TNA, that both Sean Waltman and Tenay would quit. Tenay told Jeff and Jerry Jarrett that he would work with Russo, but he would not work FOR Russo. Tenay says that Waltman doesn't want to have anything to do with Russo, period.
Jarrett/Tenay Guitar Incident
Tenay ended getting his nose and face busted open from Jeff Jarrett's guitar shot in 1999. The next week, Tenay came out and told Jarrett things had to stop, and when Tenay turned around, Jarrett attacked him and Bill Goldberg made the save. When Tenay walked backstage, everyone gave him a standing ovation. Shane Douglas said that if every babyface sold like Tenay, the company would be on top of the world. While everyone had good things to say about Tenay, Russo would not even look Tenay in the eye and the storyline ended up being dropped because Russo didn't want Tenay getting over in that angle.
Scripted/Non-scripted Interviews
Tenay said that things used to be where wrestlers would just give interviews from the heart, and Russo made it so all the interviews were 100% scripted. Tenay said wrestlers ended up focusing more on memorizing the interviews instead of speaking from the heart or preparing for their match.
X-Division
Tenay said that he sees the same thing in Amazing Red that he does in someone like Rey Mysterio. Tenay talks about an X-Division gauntlet on this Wednesday's NWA TNA PPV, which will only have pinfalls and submissions. Tenay says they are trying really hard to get Chris Daniels and Low Ki for the show, but there is a problem because both are under contract to Japan promotions.
Vince McMahon
Tenay said that Vince's McMahon being called a genius is overrated simply because of the failure of the WCW invasion angle.
Scott Steiner
Tenay respects Scott Steiner but hopes Steiner's stint in WWE can go injury-free. Tenay said that Steiner has a tendency to act very friendly one minute, and then keep to himself the next minute. Tenay talked about the incident where Steiner choked him out, saying that while Steiner wasn't trying to hurt him, Tenay's wife noticed the finger and thumb prints in his neck the following day.
Goldberg
The two were became friends basically from Goldberg's first day in WCW, and they still remain friends today. Tenay said that Goldberg goes out of his way to do charity work that never gets reported. Tenay also called Goldberg a huge hockey fan. Tenay says that he would not be shocked to see Goldberg in WWE at some point during 2003.
Ric Flair
Greatest professional wrestler of all-time in terms of being the total package. Great wrestler, great mic skills, class act. Tenay said that Flair and Bobby Heenan were the most fun to be around in WCW. Tenay also said that Flair was "The Nature Boy" 24/7.
Make sure you check out NWATNA.com! Consider getting involved with the charities on the website which are for good causes. You can even win a chance to announce NWA TNA with Mike Tenay himself!
